Getting Over Him (A Bonus Novella - Arianna's POV)

“Here comes the bride and groom to be!”The excited voice on the speaker and the cinematic music in the background didn’t evoke happiness in me. In fact, it added more fuel to my mental agony. My grip tightened around the glass of champagne, and I watched the bubbles settle down––tempting. When the waiter passed by, I swapped it for a glass of water. A deep breath expanded my lungs. Tonight, I had to be in control of my emotions.The engaged couple descended the decorated stairs, hand in hand and with face-splitting grins. She looked gorgeous in her custom-made gown. Midnight blue suited her well. He wore a matching suit, looking handsome as ever.I watched as his hand came around my sister’s waist. He laughed at something she said, his eyes crinkling with amusement. How could he smile with so much ease? Pain spread across my chest, and I blinked away my tears.What made it harder was watching her with him. Why couldn’t it be someone else? Watching her was like looking at myself in th

When we landed at the New Ikandas airport, there was a chopper ready to take us to the estate. I always loved the Cortez family helicopter. Its glass floor gave us the perfect eagle’s eye view of the city, an experience one should never miss. The Cortez family ranked on the list of the top ten billionaires for the past three decades. My dad always wanted to do business with them, but it wasn’t easy to get a deal with the Cortezes.Mike was the only son of Cortez Senior’s daughter. Only a few knew of his relationship with the famous family since he had a different surname. Mike, Rosie, and I went to the same school in Linnesse, and we’d been friends since kindergarten.If my dad knew, he’d have found a way to marry Alana to Mike. I shuddered at the mere thought.“Say cheese!”I was pulled out of my reverie by an excited Rosie, and I smiled in time for the selfie. “Are you posting that?”“Yeah!” Rosie chirped. “The twin pig is stalking me on Instagram. I’m gonna show her that you aren’

As soon as I stepped into the loneliness of my room, the composure I’d managed to pull together crumbled. I relieved a pained breath as I made my way to the bed.My fingers massaged my temples as I lay there with no will to change. I couldn’t comprehend why I reacted to Orlando like this. After all, we were never an item. He’d been my childhood crush, nothing more. I was sure every teen girl had one. The crush I had on Orlando was like the crush one would have over their favorite movie star.Yes, that’s it.You’re overreacting, Arianna.My hands found the phone that was carelessly tossed on the bed. Several notifications on my Instagram beckoned me. Opening the app, I noticed several comments about our trip, mostly about how beautiful the place was and how lucky we were.There were more photos from Alana and Brian, snippets from their pre-wedding photoshoot. I was tempted to unfollow and block them, but I didn’t. I should stop looking, but I also had to remind myself why I shouldn’t b

“Distraction tip of the day: live in the present and enjoy the moment. Worry about the depressing stuff later.” Rosie’s cheerful voice pulled me out of my thoughts as I made my way to the beach.I smiled and took a deep breath, realizing the others were closer. “How long did it take for you to move on?”“I don’t remember.” Rosie shrugged. “I guess the pain is always there. But now that I have Jeff, I always think of how blessed I am to have him whenever I remember Gage.”I nodded. It sounded like a logical answer.“Just live one day at a time, Ari. When you remember the pain, distract yourself with something that helps you to forget it enough to get through the day.”Her words made sense, and I felt like it was doable. I could certainly do that. Distract myself with something…My eyes found the epitome of male hotness walking toward our little group. The afternoon sunlight kissed his glistening olive skin.“That’ll work too,” Rosie smirked. “He’s hot.”“Rosie!” I pinched her arm.“Ouc

I stifled my yawn and focused on the brunette who was making my ears bleed. She was going on about all the designer brands that were in her closet and the number of fashion shows she had hosted in her career. The worst part was she recognized me as a Swanson and didn’t miss a chance to sing my parents’ praise.“If you don’t mind, Ms. Weston, I promised my girl a dance.” Orlando arrived to rescue me. The woman’s mouth went slack as I graciously accepted his hand with a sigh of relief. “Sorry for that. I got caught in a conversation and couldn’t get away,” he said as he led me to the dance floor.“This party is boring as fuck.”Orlando’s brows rose in question before he chuckled under his breath. “Don’t say that too loud. I’m their host, remember?” he casually joked as we moved around the dance floor.I couldn’t help but compare him with Brian at times like this. Brian would get offended and didn’t appreciate my cussing. Had it been him, he’d have lectured me for an hour, unlike Orlando